Handcuffed and chained Indian migrants deported from US arrive home on military craft

A US military plane, carrying at least 104 Indian migrants, arrived in the northern Indian city of Amritsar after Trump administration intensified crackdown on immigrants.

These individuals were deported from the US in the first phase after entering the United States illegally several years ago.

The move comes ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the White House, scheduled for next week. The issue of Indian migration was already discussed between the leders of the two countries in a telephonic conversation.

New Dehli backed the decision of the Trump administration and said it is ready to accept the deported Indians after verification, as India also opposes illegal migration because it is linked to several forms of organised crime.

The majority of the deported migrants hailed from Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat. Their documents were verified at a special counter to confirm their recognition as Indian citizens.

Read: 258 Pakistanis deported from seven countries in last 24 hours: Immigration officials

Indian Express reported that the group included 12 minors and 25 women, with at least 48 deportees under the age of 25, including a 4-year-old child. 

In terms of states, the highest number of deportees were from Gujarat and Haryana, with 33 each, followed by 30 from Punjab, three from Maharashtra, and two each from Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh.

Despite opposing illegal migration, Punjab authorities decided to warmly welcome the deported individuals.

“For Indians, not just in the United States but anywhere in the world, if they are Indian nationals, and they are overstaying or they are in a particular country without proper documentation, we will take them back, provided documents are shared with us so that we can verify their nationality that they are indeed Indians,” India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said last month.

Read: Indian couples in US opt for premature deliveries as Trump vows to end birthright citizenship

India’s junior External Affairs Minister, Kirti Vardhan Singh, informed the parliament that 519 Indian nationals were deported to India from the US between November 2023 and October 2024 from the US. 

Moreover, the data shared by the US immigration and customs authorities showed that between 2018 and 2023 there were 5,477 Indians were deported from the US.

The US prepared a list of 18,000 illegal Indian immigrants who could be deported.

According to the US Research Center, there are 725,000 illegal Indian immigrants in the US, the third largest illegal immigrant community after Mexico and El Salvador.